Indian parliament passes historic land accord bill

NEW DELHI, The Parliament on Thursday passed the constitutional amendment bill regarding the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh, with the Lok Sabha’s unanimous nod to the legislation, agencies report. “Historic milestone in India-Bangladesh relations,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted after the Lok Sabha’s nod.
The bill was unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when members buried their sharp ideological divide – from Shiv Sena to CPM – to unanimously give effect to the Land Boundary Agreement signed between India and Bangladesh in 1974 for exchange of enclaves.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj won the hearts of the entire opposition on Wednesday by crediting Manmohan Singh government for putting in the hard work. “Manmohan Singh is the one who started the whole thing. I have merely completed the task,” she said, thanking the former PM who was present in the Rajya Sabha. She pointed out that the bill is exactly the same – to the last comma and full stop – as was presented by UPA in Parliament in December 2013. “It’s a win-win-win situation for everyone,” she said, ascribing the quote to leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad. Calling the passage of the bill “historic”, Swaraj said it would take India-Bangladesh relations to a new high by settling the 41-year border issue.
The bill aims at giving effect to the acquiring of territories by India and transfer of territories to Bangladesh through retaining of adverse possession and exchange of enclaves in accordance with the 1974 agreement.